More To Life
by princessjazzie
Summary: There is more to life than being an Old Lady, at least that's what Tara thought. All Tara had to do now was convince her surrogate mother and the love of her life that she could maintain her status within the family and club while pursuing her dream.


Tara headed home to study for finals leaving Jax and Opie at TM to work on a last minute car that came in. Tara knew she didn't really need to study for the last two finals she had but with her around, Jax never seemed to get any work done. As much as she loved seeing Jax shirtless and sweaty, it wasn't really fair to any of the guys, especially Opie. Opie wanted to get off early and spend time with Donna; things had been rough with the two of them ever since Donna's parents found out she was spending all of her free time sneaking around with that 'Winston kid and his criminal friends.' Those 'criminal friends' to Tara's surprise included her. Tara was a straight A student but ever since she had started seeing Jax Teller, she wasn't the quite straight A student she had once been. At first Donna's parents took away her car. Which wasn't really a loss considering it barely got her to and from school or work and between Tara's Cutlass and Opie's Harley Donna didn't really need a car. When her parents realized taking away her car wasn't prohibiting her from spending time with her 'criminal' friends they decided to ground her. This again wasn't really a loss because she would just sneak out of her bedroom window or keep it open just a crack to let Opie sneak in after they thought her parents went to bed. This worked for a while until one night her dad wasn't fully asleep yet and heard the light rumble of a bike about a block away; he got up in time to see someone going around to the back of the house. Even though he couldn't make out who it was he somehow knew it had to do with his teenage daughter since her room was that direction. Before Opie had finished climbing into the window Donna's dad burst through the bedroom door almost taking it clear off its hinges; her dad threatened to have Opie arrested for trespassing if he didn't leave before he got to a phone. Knowing he was no longer a minor and knowing Donna's dad would never physically harm Donna no matter how mad he was, he fled. The next morning however Donna was sent to Lodi to stay with her aunt. Lodi isn't far from Charming which meant she could commute by the local bus to Charming High to finish out her Senior year but with her parents calling to speak to her at designated times to make sure she was actually home, it didn't leave her much time for anything outside of school. Her aunt however picked up a second shift which meant she would be working till 2am Saturday. Opie planned to make the trip to Lodi after he got off work. This is why Tara left TM, as much as she enjoyed being with her man Opie and Donna needed this time a little more than her and Jax.

On her way home Tara had feeling that something was going to happen. This feeling instantly made her regret her decision to leave TM. Sure enough when she arrived home she saw Gemma standing in the entryway pacing.

"Hey Gem something wrong?" Tara asked. Gemma despised being called 'ma'am' and wasn't a huge fan of 'Mrs'. She usually always went by Gemma however over the last two years they had gotten close and soon Gemma became Gem which only a hand full of people got the privilege of calling her. Judging by the way Gemma snapped her neck to attention and the glare Tara was now receiving she knew it was bad, if she heard "little girl" she knew it was really bad.

"Oh don't play dumb and Gem me little girl; I welcomed you into my home, treated you like my goddamn daughter, and then you go and do THIS!" It wasn't until that moment Tara noticed what she had in her hand. Gemma had one of her college acceptance letters.

Tara pleaded, "Please, Gem let me explain." Gemma gave her a look that said fine but you better get to it. "Gem when I look at you I know you are meant to be a fierce mother; to protect your family at all costs, even if that cost is yourself. That is your path. When I look at myself I know I am meant to be a healer. I've seen and done bad things already in my life but none of that compares to the things the club has done and will do. When Karma comes knocking on that clubhouse door I want to be able to save them, heal them, because that is my path. I love you Gem, I love this club and I love your son; I am not going anywhere. If anything I am trying to cement my place in this life; this club life!"

By this point Gemma had already closed the gap between herself and Tara. She cupped Tara's face in her hands and said "I love you sweetheart; you are going to make a fine Old Lady someday."


End file.
